America

NASA’s new 10 engined plane that can take off like a helicopter

A team at NASA’s Langley Research Center is developing a concept of a battery-powered plane that has 10 engines and can take off like a helicopter and fly efficiently like an aircraft. The prototype, called Greased Lightning or GL-10, is currently in the design and testing phase.

A team at NASA’s Langley Research Center is developing a concept of a battery-powered plane that has 10 engines and can take off like a helicopter and fly efficiently like an aircraft.

The prototype, called Greased Lightning or GL-10, is currently in the design and testing phase.

The initial thought was to develop a 20-foot wingspan (6.1 meters) aircraft powered by hybrid diesel/electric engines, but the team started with smaller versions for testing, built by rapid prototyping.

During a recent spring day the engineers took the GL-10 to test its wings at a military base about two hours away from NASA Langley. The remotely piloted plane has a 10-foot wingspan (3.05 meters), eight electric motors on the wings, two electric motors on the tail and weighs a maximum of 62 pounds (28.1 kilograms) at take off.

This photograph captures the GL-10 prototype taking off in hover mode like a helicopter.

Related Posts

Following the Asian Tour (2013), the largest professional civilian aerobatics team flying on jets is making its first appearance on the American continent for a grand tour that will take it all over the United States as well as Canada. An opportunity to fly high the Breitling colors.

In the not-too-distant future, humanity's Next Giant Leap into our solar system will make journey to Mars a living reality. Orion will be the next generation spacecraft for missions in the 2020s that will put Mars within the reach of astronauts in the 2030s.